“Stacy, all that chore listing and stuff is cool, but I work outside the home. Sometimes part-time and sometimes full time. I still need help managing a home – how can I get this place under control?!”
I still believe dedicating certain days to certain tasks can work for you. It will take some tweaking on your part, but I think you can make it work and get your home under control.
I homeschool my children and run our business here at home, so that to me feels like a full time+ job. BUT, I know I am here all day and that makes a big difference. It would be super easy for me to give you some tips on this matter, but in all honesty…I really don’t know what I’m talking about. It would be me giving you advice about something I know nothing of.
So, I asked two friends of mine to chat with me a little bit on how they are managing a home while also working outside of the home. I think you’ll gather some good tips. This is an audio blog, because it just made the most sense to conduct it that way.
Maybe you can listen to these posts on your commute.
In this interview, you’ll be hearing from Sonja over at Practical Stewardship. She has great wisdom and great recipes! I’ll put her notes below the audio. Enjoy!
Sonja’s Main Points for Managing a Home When You Work Outside of It:
- Managing a home does not mean doing all of the work. Sometimes it means delegating in an efficient way.
- You have to decide what is most important to you. For me it is always having the kitchen clean. Because the clean kitchen means that we can do work in it. So whatever happens during the day, at the end of the day the kitchen has to be clean. When you have a clean kitchen you’re more likely to make food at home, and that saves money.
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My favorite recipe from Sonja is her Chocolate Granola. SO GOOD!
- And whenever we have leftovers, I make sure those go in for lunch for the next day. We always prepared that the night before, so the morning is less hectic. I put out as much as possible the night before as far as lunch is a go, the non-perishables like bananas and trail mix or whatever.
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My second priority is having clean clothes. As soon as I have a load to do I am making sure that it’s getting started. Now that my kids are older they can start the load, and when it’s done they can put it in the dryer.
- As the new school year begins and I go back to school teaching about half time, our priority is now to have the kids put away the dishes right away after eating breakfast. Last year I had the luxury of leaving after my family did, and it was a dream! This year I will leave at the same time or just before my family leaves for their school so I will not be able to clean up after them.
- I try to have the kids sweep the floors in the evening. It doesn’t get done every day, but it does get done at least every couple of days. And then they “shark” using our mop alternative. The vacuuming gets done once a week on Saturdays by my oldest daughter who is 11.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the wisdom from Sonja. You can also follow her over on Facebook to keep up with all her awesome tips and posts.
If you have unanswered questions, please post them below in the comments and we’ll get back to you. Also, let us know what you think about audio blogs. Thanks!
For the second interview in this series, with Angela Coffman, see HERE.
i like the idea of a clean room. I agree the kitchen is ground zero for me. I do prefer to eat at home so this is helpful. My cat refuses to help so I have to do it all myself.
Thank you for the suggestions,
Pink Kitty
I think you need to have a serious discussion with this cat of yours.
Love love love audio blog posts! I was able to cook dinner and listen. I work my own hours from the 5th thru the 20th every month for the city. I do a lot of nitty gritty dirty work. I have been able to use your tips while tweaking them to suit my families crazy hours. 2 weeks out of the month, my schedule looks very similar to yours, the other 2 weeks it looks a bit different. Before bed, I always, even if I’m sick!, load the dishwasher, clean the counters, load up the coffee machine, throw in a load of laundry and sweep. This makes waking up in the morning before my people, doing my bible time and having quite so much easier. I’m not thinking about what o have to clean and the crumbs that are under my feet. I can solely concentrate on my quiet time in my bible with my hotbcup of coffee. Nothing else worked till you simplified it for me! Thank you ?
I love audio blogs too for the same reasons!
Thanks for sharing this! I am sort of a combination in that I work full-time but 100% from home. I am also “older” (a recent empty-nester) but I am LOVING honing my homemaking skills – never too old for improving homemaking! I look at it as stepping up to how I wanted to be when I was younger, taking care of my home and hubby now and helping to train the next generations I am blessed to be a part of! Thanks for sharing – and making sure that all women – regardless of where they work – know homemaking is for us too!
Yes! Thank you for helping train the next generation. We need you!
Hello Stacy,
I enjoy your blog,although my daughter is grown up.i was intrigued by a random look at a post of your wedding:you look different!in a good way.did you intentionally lose weight?
Best wishes
Ann Marie
Yes, I did. 🙂 30ish pounds kept off for 13 years. Thank you for the compliment. 🙂
Thanks you so much for this! I’ve been reading your recent posts but couldn’t figure out how to apply them. I’m barely at home on weekdays and too tired to do any housework when I get home from work. Thanks to you, I’ve begun to organize some things Konmari-style, and it’s really helping my house stay cleaner! My priority is healthy eating, and I’ve found that freezer/crock-pot/Instant Pot meals are the best way to go on weeknights, since I usually don’t get home until about 7:30.
Thanks so much for this! BTW, I work outside the home but I ALWAYS find things in your advice that I can make work for me. Love you!!! Thanks for sharing your wisdom, humor, and honesty with me!!
Thanks, Patty!!!
Thank you for tackling this, even if it not in your wheelhouse. I love to read “mom-blogs” but so many that have a Christian flavor are done by SAHM/WAHM, from a SAH perspective. And you’re right, it really is different. We face different issues of scheduling and balancing. As a mom, who works full time outside the home with a long commute, keeping our house presentable can be a real challenge. Balancing quality time with Kiddo (on weekdays, its a small sadly small amount, so I try to make it count), cleaning up, and having a little down time to decompress, can be a real struggle. I try to straighten up the main living area (kitchen/dining/living are one big space) daily and make sure dishes are done and counters cleared/cleaned. The rest waits for the weekend.
Thanks for chiming in with your experiences, Alissa! It helps us all learn!
My Mom was a working Mom and when I (for a brief time) tried working full time she gave me the advice of, “Have in your mind what your going to have for dinner and make plans towards that. Do you need to thaw something out, or prep something to get it ready for supper. etc. STAY ON TOP OF THE LAUNDRY! Try to do 2 to 3 loads a day so you are not spending your saturday just doing laundry. Hope this is helpful. My Mom was a working Mom for 35 or so years. She ran a a tight ship at home. “Time is money”.
My mom was a working mom too. 🙂
I’m a full time working outside the home + 90% of the time sole parent mama (merchant marine family)…and I agree, kitchen then laundry. For me the rest gets done when homework is done for the evening and if I’ve got mental/physical energy to do anything else. Love Saturday mornings…I always wake up at the same time but the boys sleep for an extra couple hours….quite cleaning bliss.
That does sound like bliss!